Insanity Reigns Supreme : Occultus Insanus Damnatus

The Belgian band Insanity Reigns Supreme has released two albums and as many demos over the past years, each of them witnessing an ever increasing talent in building strong Death Doom songs. Insanity Reigns Supreme is some kind of a moniker! It inspires respect; it radiates a feeling of powerful authorty. The names bear all the intentions of the band: it must be dark, ominous, violent, fierce. Well, guys, kudos, it is!

The brutal association of guttural grunts and black-ish shoutings, the clipped rhythm of the guitars, the obscure and sick leads are just as many angry and evil spits in your face, a 10 pounds hammer through your skull. The album is short; every songs sound like they have been manufactured in a boiling cauldron. It’s hot and brutish.

I find traces of Septicflesh in the sound texture, the epic dimensions – that can have an almost Hollywood scope- and up to the artwork. I don’t think the Greeks have influenced the Belgians, the fact is IRS. play their Death doom fast! With a sense of urgency that is once more to be linked with the fundamental aggressiveness and bestiality of the music. There are obvious Black-ish elements thrown in the battle also: Blasts and tremolo picking, wolfish vocals.

Between the two first songs, there’s little differences. Acceleration swiftly lead by the drums and deceleration.
On 'Deus Serpentis': a clear male voice is coupled to an operatic female voice (very Draconian- like), the way the band plays with the different vocal levels blows some interesting rhythm in the track, some rather clipped dynamics. I also hear some Garden Of Gehenna in there.
'Legion' is a drummer treat, it’s running wild, without respite.
'Insane Cult Of Doom' is the most... well, Doom. Pachydermic, full of a sick groove; it reminds me a bit of the slowest tracks of Satyricon (e.g. 'To The Mountains')...Till the expected acceleration.
'Worship' starts in a war-like way with a slightly dissonant lead. The use of Latin gives a blasphemous and sulfurous side to the band’s music. It’s not original per se but it works.
'Dark from the soul' is a very doomy song also… till the Death panzer assault comes and pulverizes everything on its way; it’s savage and threatening.

Insanity Reigns Supreme’s Doom is built on the repetition of choruses (“i am your god”, “ave”, “the dragon”), lyrics’ ideas that give the tracks their peculiar features in the absence of an unique musical identity: left without any vocal parts, I would hardly recognise them. The riffs are titanic, or get lost in throbbing digressions that are seldom melodic; everything is relying on effectiveness.

That being said, 'Occultus Insanus Damnatus' remains a very enjoyable listen. The band has composed 11 tracks that sound like 11 infernal anthems, devilish, heavy and terribly dark. Is an invert mass, celebrated on a bloody altar. There’s fever and a carnivorous hunger in there. I like it even if I can’t say they’re up to something new or even different here. As I say, I hear the sound of other well-established bands in the boiling venom. Well, at the end, when the music is good, who cares?